The Last of a Rare Kind
by Trip4Me
Summary: If Series Five appeared...Chapter 9! After being captured by creatures known as Hitariks, Trip and Malcolm come to understand how Kractens have affected the Hitariks.
1. Chapter 1

**Kractens**

Chapter 1-

"Commander…"

Trip — Commander Charles Tucker III also chief engineer of the star ship Enterprise — looked up from the comm station, towards his companion, Lieutenant Reed. "What can I do for you, Malcolm?" his Texan accent hung around him like a fog.

Malcolm, who was also the tactical officer and armoury officer on board Enterprise, was staring at the tactical console. "The S.O.S signal…" he looked up at Trip, "its gone, sir."

The S.O.S signal. They had been sent by Captain Archer to retrieve whoever the caller was, but it would be slightly difficult to get them, if there was no signal.

Puzzlement covered the commander's face. "Well… that makes things awkward, doesn't it?"

"Very awkward, especially as we have no one to retrieve, sir."

Trip stood up, pacing the small deck of Shuttlepod one, humming softly. "Where was the signal last?" He finally asked, walking over to Malcolm.

Tapping at his station, he sighed. "Only 20 minutes from here."

Trip looked, and then carried on pacing. "We could go to where the signal last was, see if they could still be there."

Malcolm's station started to bleep. "Sir!" he called out.

Trip rushed back to him. "What is it?"

"Four unidentified ships heading our way, sir." He looked at the screen. "10 seconds til interception."

"They could be the S.O.S caller," Trip said, a slightly annoyed tone in his voice. "Let's see if they are going to hail us…"

The commander walked back to the com station, tapping at the keypad. "Well… not yet," he laughed lightly.

"Commander?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to say, sir, but they're powering weapons." Malcolm looked over at him.

Trip looked up. "What?"

"Hang on." The lieutenant stared at his screen. "One is separating from the group. They're heading for us."

Trip's station came alive. "Oh… well, they do have manners after all," he laughed, punching a line through.

A male voice spoke through the channel, as far as Trip could tell, they spoke English. "This is the Captain of the Locus, power down all systems and prepare to be boarded for inspection."

Trip and Malcolm exchanged looks, till Trip returned his attention to the comm. "This is Commander Tucker from the Starship Enterprise."

"Commander Tucker, you will stand down," the voice replied, "or prepare to be destroyed."

Trip looked over at Malcolm. "Well… that's not very nice," he laughed lightly.

Malcolm's face was of a very serious nature. "This isn't funny, Commander, I think they mean it." He looked back at the tactical screen.

Trip stopped laughing as the ship shook violently. "Jesus!" he cried out, as he smacked his head on the side of the craft. "Was that a hit?"

"Negative, sir," Malcolm replied, rubbing his own head, "but it was close. 50 metres off the starboard side,"

"Locus to Commander Tucker. That was a warning shot, if you do not power down, we will be forced to destroy you."

"They're powering up, Commander," Malcolm said.

Trip sat down in the pilot's seat, powering the engines up. "Well… let's not be around to see what happens."

"Is that wise?"

"Better than sitting here like a duck," Trip smiled, as the thrusters kicked in.

Shuttlepod One sped away from the four ships, but it wasn't long till they caught up and opened fire. The craft shuddered as laser fire rained down on them. "Dammit!" Trip growled.

Malcolm looked over at him. "It would have probably been best if we just did what they asked, Sir."

Trip shrugged, "well…" he sighed, "too late for that…"

"Sir!" Malcolm called out over the noise, "There's another ship approaching in front of us,"

"Oh great!" Trip sighed, "This day couldn't get any better, could it?"

Malcolm smiled. "well, they aren't going to attack us, that's for sure."

Trip looked over at him. "How do you know?"

"Because they're firing upon the other craft."

Trip looked at Malcolm's screen. Sure enough the new spaceship was helping them. "That's one hell of a big ship!" Trip gave off a low whistle, "it's nearly five times the size of Enterprise."

"Bet you're glad it's helping us," Malcolm replied. "The four other ships are retreating."

Trip nodded, as the ship came into view. It covered the whole of the front view screen, as it flew directly in front of them. Its hull was a deep silver, scarred by past battles. The underside was lumpy; obviously the pilot wasn't the best at landing.

"Unidentified craft," a voice rang out. "This is Captain Morac of the Lilcato, please respond."

Trip laughed happily. "Finally, someone polite!" He sat down behind the comm station. "This is Commander Tucker, of the Shuttlepod One."

"Commander Tucker, please state why you are here," Morac replied. "This is a danger zone. Your craft should not be here."

"You're telling us," Malcolm whispered.

Trip just looked at him then smiled. "We were receiving an S.O.S from around here. Our captain sent us over to investigate."

There was a pause "Is your ship damaged in any way?" Morac asked.

Trip looked at Malcolm, who nodded slightly. "Only a bit, sir."

"Very well. I insist you shut your power down."

Trip arched an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"I'm sending three men over," Morac replied. "I need to make sure you do not work with Kracta."

"Who?"

But the channel had already closed. Trip just sighed. "Well… there's us trying not to be boarded, and we're being boarded anyway,"

"At least they sound nicer, sir," Malcolm smiled lightly.

A clang sounded off, as metal scraped on metal. Trip stood up and walked to the airlock, as a hissing sound went on. Thinking it was safe, Trip opened the airlock door.

A very hot breeze pushed its way into the shuttlepod. The gangway to the Lilcato was large, made of a very sturdy metal. Trip's gaze then fell on three men, who were laughing as they made their way towards him. The lead man, whose striking reddish-pink eyes settled on Trip's features, looked him up and down, and running a pale hand through his silver hair. "Ha!" he suddenly laughed, causing Trip to jump. "You owe me 10 tokens, Barke!"

Another man sighed angrily. "Oh come on, Narl, lets just call it even, huh?"

His skin was very pale in colour, just like the others, with reddish-pink eyes and silver hair. They reminded Trip of albino mice. Narl, the lead one, smiled. "What do you think, Chacke, should I let the dweeb off?"

Chacke just sighed, as he prodded Narl with the tip of his rifle, "I dunno, lets just get on with what we are suppose to be doing, shall we?"

Narl laughed, and noticed Trip's confused face "Oh, sorry there. We just had a bet… and I won."

"What kind of bet?" Trip asked.

"That you aliens looked weird," Barke piped up, as he walked past Trip along with Narl.

'We looked weird!' Trip thought, trying to hold back a snigger.

Malcolm stood up, reaching for his phase pistol when he saw the three enter, but Trip just raised a hand. "Don't worry, Mal," he smiled.

Narl looked around, giving off a low whistle. "Good technology here," he said.

Barke nodded. "They definitely don't work for Kracta."

Chacke looked at the other two. "Should we proceed?"

They both nodded.

Trip was slightly confused with what was going on. "May I ask something?"

Narl nodded. "sure thing, mate. What is it?"

Trip gave them an uneasy smile. "What is it you're going to do?"

Narl just grinned. "Oh, don't worry. It's absolutely painless."

"What is?" Malcolm asked, keeping his hand near his weapon.

"This," Barke said, as he fired his weapon.

A green light surrounded Trip and Malcolm, and Trip's chest and head erupted in pain, as he fell to the floor unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Last**

Chapter 2 —

"Oh dear, oh dear!"

Trip's eyes flickered open, as he saw a young lady dash around his bed, looking at medical screens. Someone walked up beside the lady. "Will he be ok?" a male voice asked.

Trip sat up, only to be gently pushed back down again by the lady. "Please… stay still Commander," she whispered to him, and then turned to the male. "He will be just fine."

The other person nodded and left. The lady started pacing again, slightly worried. Trip growled and placed a hand on his head. "Where am I?" he asked.

The lady looked over at him. "In the sickbay on board the Lilcato, Commander." she then shook her head. "Oh, where are my manners, my name is Roseato."

She scurried off to a computer screen, looking at it with worried eyes, tutting to herself. Trip sighed and looked down at his body, noticing diagnostic sensors over his chest. He looked back up at the lady. "May I?" he asked, pointing at the plugs.

Roseato was busy looking at a screen next to Trip, but she turned her attention back to him. "Oh, of course," she smiled softly to him.

Trip pulled the plugs from his body, and swung his legs around to the edge of the bed, noticing he was only in his shorts. She rushed back over to him, taking the plugs from him and hung them up. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Trip took a close look at her.

She was different from the rest.

Her skin was a rich tan, and her eyes a bright colourful purple, which matched a deep purple gem, embedded into her forehead. Long golden blonde hair was tied back in a bun, as she pushed a lock of her hair behind a pointed ear. Her body was slim, and curved, and she wore a similar uniform to the others, with the exception that her stomach was exposed, along with a diamond piercing, surrounded by five purple gems, similar to that on her forehead. On her uniform was a small device, which turned out to be a translator, similar to the one back on Enterprise. At first, Trip thought she was a Vulcan, but his thoughts were banished when he saw the long snake-like tail twitching from behind her. She was very beautiful, with a warm and friendly-looking face. Unfortunately, Trip liked her immediately.

"Commander?" Roseato said, looking at him.

Trip was ripped back to reality, he just smiled at her. "Oh, I'm fine." He then watched her check the computer screen again. "May I ask something?" he asked.

The alien looked at him. "Sure."

"You're not the same as the rest, are you?" Trip asked.

Roseato laughed lightly. "Isn't that obvious?"

Trip felt a bit stupid after that. "Well... I mean… you know..."

Roseato smiled again. "No, I'm not. They are Kractens. I'm a Hitaru."

Trip thought for a moment. "Hitaru. I don't think I've heard of that species before."

"Not many people have. Only Kractens," Roseato replied. "we were a dying race, able to telepathically communicate and such. But, because our minds evolved so fast, our bodies were still primitive."

Trip smirked, not being able to keep the comment to himself. "You don't look very primitive."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She smiled back, then looked at the ground. "But as the last, I have to try everything to keep my race going."

"Last?" Trip repeated.

She nodded, her face saddened. A sigh escaped her lips as she sat down next to Trip, a medical scanner, not as highly advanced as the ones on Enterprise, in her hand. "The Kractens are in a civil war. I don't know a lot about it, only that it somehow involved my people. Kracta, the new emperor of the Kractens, enraged the outer planets of the systems… They are mostly workers and families. They did not wish to be an empire, but wanted freedom."

Trip nodded. "Yeah, we've had problems like that back on our planet."

"This involves three star systems," she simply said. "Thousands of Kractens are killed every day because of Kracta. We only had one planet, a desert one. Our race was known for creating many things, weapons, ships, technology. Kracta came to us, demanding we give him an item called the 'supreme source'. But we did not. It was not his right to take it."

"What is the 'supreme source'?" Trip asked.

She looked at him. "An item, able to power hundreds of battleships at once. We created it to enhance our research facilities. Our main project was cloning, which required a massive amount of energy. Our race was dying. There were few females left, and we could only reproduce once every three years." She sighed. "Scientists grouped together, to try and find the secret which could help us continue to exist."

"I take it you failed?"

Roseato shook her head. "No, they succeeded, but they could not enhance the genes properly. The new clone had side affects. After a few years, the Hitaru clone died, practically disintegrated, but before we could try again, Kracta arrived with his fleet." She closed her eyes for a second. "When the scientists refused to give him what he sought, he destroyed every village, every town, upon our planet."

Trip saw how sad she was; he placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to resist the urge to comfort her. "I'm sorry," he sighed.

Roseato looked back at him. "Don't be… it wasn't your fault."

Trip smiled lightly. "But… how did you escape?"

"I didn't…" she simply said, slightly confusing the commander, till he realised what happened.

"You were captured?"

Roseato nodded. "I was only 7 years old when the soldiers stormed my home." She tried to hold back a tear. "I watched my mother and father murdered. I still hear their screams. I ran. I didn't know what to do, so I hid. But they found me." She paused lightly, taking a deep breath. "They took me to him… Kracta. Locked me away for 10 years, till he decided to talk to me. At first, he was nice, he just asked me questions about the 'supreme source' but I did not tell him. My family had sworn me to secrecy on the subject. But Kracta started to grow angry." She moved her hand to her shoulder, closing her eyes. "They tortured me… for nearly ten years. But I still didn't tell them. I would rather die then betray my family's memories." Tears rolled down her slender cheeks.

Trip unconsciously reached out to her. "Hey," he whispered, "you're safe now."

Roseato hugged him, burying her face into his chest. "I'll never be safe till Kracta's dead," she whimpered slightly, as Trip's arms wrapped around her back.

Trip felt her cringe to his touch. He released her. "Are you ok?" he asked, trying to look at her back.

Roseato just pulled the top half of her uniform closer to her body. "It's nothing," she replied.

Before Trip could pursue it any further, the door to the medi-bay slid open, as two people entered, one very familiar.

"Mal," Trip smiled.

Malcolm nodded. "Commander, are you ok?"

Trip laughed lightly. "I'll be fine, Lieutenant."

He noticed that Malcolm was wearing a similar uniform to the Kractens. He paused and looked at the other figure. He was also a Kracten, by the looks of his pale skin and red eyes. But his uniform was smart, with medals on his chest. His hair was a military cut; Trip knew he must be of importance.

"Captain Morac,"

Morac nodded, "Commander. I'm sorry about earlier, we didn't know it would have such a reaction on your mind."

"Well." Trip smiled, "my mind has been known to do some very peculiar things."

The captain didn't smile at this. "I hope you can accept my apologies."

Trip nodded. "You don't have to apologise, but the thought is appreciated. After all, I should be the one to thank you."

"Is that so?" Morac asked.

"You did save our lives, sir," Malcolm said.

"Don't thank me," he replied, "thank the Hitaru. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have found you."

Trip went to look beside him, but noticed she had gone. Roseato was busy on the other side of the medi-bay, but upon hearing her species spoken of, she walked back. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Did someone mention me?"

Trip saw her eyes were dry again, and her warm smile was restored. "We were talking about how you found them," Morac said.

Malcolm was confused/ "But how…?"

Roseato interrupted. "This ship doesn't have the best sensors, which was why they had to board you," she smiled, "My psyche is very strong, and I was able to sense two distressed minds."

Trip thought for a moment. "You're psychic then?" he asked.

Roseato smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not reading any minds, if that's what you mean." She thought for a moment. "I do not like invading people's privacy, but I do sense emotions and thoughts without trying."

'Best keep those in check then' Trip thought, and then noticed Roseato smiling. 'Oh, yeah, she can read thoughts as well.'

Morac smiled. "which is why she is extremely valuable to us. She can seek out spies and traitors, but she does have the choice to not work for us. Unlike Kracta, I believe in freedom."

"That's good," Trip smiled. "So do we."

Malcolm placed something next to Trip, which turned out to be another Kracten uniform. "Our uniforms were very damaged, and they insisted on disposing of them." The lieutenant smiled. "Don't worry, I saved your pips, sir," and he placed the three metal pips in Trip's hand.

Trip smiled and pulled the body suit on, attaching the pips to his collar. "Thanks, Mal," he smiled.

Morac nodded, turning around. "I'm sure you must be hungry. Roseato will take you to the Mess-hall, if you wish to eat." He was about to leave, till he remembered something. "Oh yes… I'm afraid you three will have to share, as we are already short on space." He smiled at their disbelief-ridden faces as he left.

"Great," Trip sighed, but then looked over to Rose. "I'm not sure about Mal, but I'm hungry enough to eat a horse."

Roseato tilted her head to one side. "What's a horse?" she asked. "Sounds like something cute."

Trip laughed. "It's just a figure of speech, back on my planet."

Roseato just smiled. "Your species sounds very interesting. What did you say you were?"

"Oh," Trip laughed lightly, "wer'e humans, from Earth… Quite a while away from here,"

"Humans?" she grinned. "That's a bit of a plain name. Suppose it fits the species."

Trip crossed his arms. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Roseato laughed and headed out of the medi-bay. "I mean… you haven't got anything extra. No tail, wings, horns, nothing. Just a plain, old, boring figure."

Malcolm laughed lightly, as Trip turned to him. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh," The lieutenant sighed, "I just think she's taken a shine to you."

"Can't see why…" Trip smirked, "we humans are just plain old boring,"

Malcolm just smiled as they both left the medi-bay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Promise**

Chapter 3-

The three of them made their way down the corridor after having eaten. Trip smiled and smacked his lips. "That food was pretty good," he laughed lightly. "What did you say it was again?"

"Gromik'an," Rose replied.

Malcolm smiled lightly. "Gromik'an sounds strange."

"Yeah. What's it made of?" Trip asked, but he soon wished he hadn't.

"The reproductive organs of a Gromik," she replied. "Hence the name."

Trip and Malcolm stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in horror. Roseato stopped and looked at them. "Is there something wrong?"

"You mean…" Trip started, "…you let us eat their you-know-whatists?"

"I didn't force you," she shrugged. "anyway, you said it tasted good."

"Well, that was before I actually knew what it was."

They both turned to Malcolm, who looked a bit green. "Ohh…" Roseato smiled, "is this a human trick?"

"No…" Malcolm whined. "This is what we look like when we're sick."

"Oh," Roseato said, taking a step away from the lieutenant.

Trip just clapped a hand on Malcolm's back. "Well… we'd best turn vegetarians till we're back on Enterprise, hey?"

"Enterprise?" Roseato asked.

Trip looked at her. "Our ship."

"So… what was the ship you came in?"

"Well…" he sighed, "you see, Roseato…"

"Call me Rose," she smiled back.

Trip smiled. "Ok… Rose. You see, we come from a ship, called Enterprise. But we were sent to find an SOS call, so we used out shuttle pod."

Rose whistled slightly, thinking. "Where's your ship now?"

"On some mission or other," Trip shrugged. "Top secret."

Rose just grinned. "Yeah…" she then changed the subject rather quickly, "about the lieutenant…"

"Malcolm," he croaked, "you don't have to call me lieutenant."

"And neither me commander," Trip smiled. "It's Trip."

"Trip?" she said. "Isn't that a word for when one falls over?"

He laughed lightly, helping Malcolm to stand straight. "Yeah… but my full name is Charles Tucker III. Third is also Triple, AKA, Trip."

"AKA…" Rose smiled. " 'Complicated' "

"You could say that," Trip nodded.

Rose grinned sheepishly. "Well… it looks as if Malcolm should lie down. Our room is only along here."

They followed her to a large door. Pressing a few buttons, it slid open, revealing a smallish room. "Well… not exactly five stars is it?" Trip laughed lightly.

The room was grey in colour, with a bunk bed in the corner, along with a large sofa on the other side of the room. A desk also sat in the corner, with a working computer. Pipes were exposed on the ceiling, at which Rose smiled. "Ahh… good."

"Huh?" Trip asked, as Malcolm sat down on the bottom bunk.

Rose looked at him. "Oh… I meditate upside-down."

The commander gave her a strange look.

"I'm not sure about you, Commander," Malcolm smiled weakly, "but I think I'm going to rest this strange meal off."

Trip just smiled. "Sure thing, Mal. Don't have nightmares about it."

"I'll try not to," he laughed back, and lay down, turning his back to them.

Trip turned to Rose, who had made herself comfortable in front of the computer. "What'cha doing?" he asked, walking over to her.

Rose looked up. "Oh, nothing really." She then typed onto the screen. "Just looking."

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied.

Trip knelt down beside her, watching her fingers zoom across the keypad. "So… how did you come to be here?" he asked.

She paused, and looked at him. "I'm the SOS caller, and they just happened to pick me up before you did."

Trip nodded. "Any specialities"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, back on Enterprise, I'm an engineer, so my speciality is engines." He pointed over to Malcolm. "He's the armoury officer… his speciality is guns and stuff."

"Oh…" she thought for a moment. "I'm very good at healing and stuff."

Trip nodded. "Hence you being in the medi-bay?"

"Kind of," she simply replied.

"What do you mean, kind of?" Trip asked, his eyebrow raised.

She laughed lightly. "When I heard that you two were not Kractens, I was very curious to see what you looked like, as some people said you looked strange." She smiled, "And you do."

"Says the person with a tail," he muttered under his breath.

She just smirked. "Well, it comes in handy."

Trip laughed lightly. "How can that 'thing' come in handy?"

"For garrotting cheeky humans with," Rose sighed.

"Oh…" Trip stopped laughing.

Rose smiled. "I'm kidding Trip, don't take it too seriously."

Trip shrugged. "It's hard to tell whether your joking or not."

Rose just ignored him and pointed something on her screen. "Look here."

Trip followed her finger. "What am I looking at?" he asked.

Zooming in, he finally saw the outline of an orange planet. "That is my home world."

"Oh…" he simply said.

"What?"

"I'm no fan of desert planets," he smiled.

Rose grinned, "well… we may be going there pretty soon."

Trip crossed his arms. "Why?" he asked.

"There's something I need to collect." She turned to him, "and I may need your help."

Trip stood up. "Well, there's one problem with that."

"What is it?"

He turned to her. "This isn't any of Starfleet's orders, neither is it my captain's,"

"But…" she started, "this could save thousands, millions of lives."

Trip sighed. "I'm sorry."

Rose looked at the ground, her eyes closed. "That is the reason why my species is practically extinct…"

Trip looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She looked back up at him. "An SOS call was sent out to the Kracten alliance. They could not help us because the high council would not allow them to."

"You must understand," Trip said, "If Starfleet get involved…"

"You will be involved… in time," she said.

"What…?"

"Kracta plans to take over everything… his army and fleet ever grows." She looked back up at him. "He next plans to take the Vulcan sector. He has the ships and fire power to do so."

Trip sat on the edge of the desk. "But this technology…"

"His is much better," she replied. "They took some of our own technology… blueprints of advanced battle cruisers we designed, but there is one place he has missed." She clicked back onto the screen. "A research facility on one of the outer moons."

Trip was about to speak again, when the comm. next to him bleeped into life. "Bridge to Commander Tucker."

Trip sighed and stood up, punching a line through. "Tucker here. Go ahead."

"Captain Morac wishes to speak with you."

"On my way," Trip said as he cut the line off.

Walking to the door, he opened it and was about to go, when Rose placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her, and saw the desperation in her eyes. "Can you at least think about it?" she asked.

"I will," he said, then looked at Malcolm. "Make sure he's ok."

Rose nodded, as Trip left for the Bridge.


	4. Chapter 4

**Deceit**

Chapter 4-

Trip entered the Bridge, and looked at the Kractens at their stations. It looked slightly similar to that of Enterprise, but with lower technology. Behind him, he saw the engineering station, where the captain stood.  
"Ah, Commander Tucker, please," he smiled, indicating the space next to him.

Trip walked over to him, noticing a female opposite the captain. "Sir, you wished to speak to me?"

Morac shook his head slightly. "You don't have to call me sir,. You're not under my command. But yes, I did want to see you."

The lady opposite them moved uneasily. "Commander," she said. "I'm Chief Engineer aboard the Lilcato. I understand you were also the Chief Engineer aboard your own vessel?"

Trip nodded. Captain Morac looked at him. "Then you may be able to help us. You see, when we rescued your ship, the fighter craft damaged our engines slightly."

"You want me to look at it?" Trip asked.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Morac smiled.

Trip smiled back. "Not at all, Captain. After all, you saved our lives. I'll repay the debt."

Morac nodded to the lady. "It is much appreciated, Commander, but I insist you rest first, the engines will hold for the moment."

"Well… I can look…"

"No," Morac said firmly. "You're a guest, I insist you rest. Roseato said the stun ray affected your neural system,. I do not wish for you to have an accident on my behalf."

Before Trip could argue that he was really ok, Morac indicated two security staff to come over. "Please escort Commander Tucker back to his room."

The two security men looked at Trip, as he sighed. "Ok… I'll rest for a bit," he said as they directed him off towards his quarters.

Trip entered the room, as the two guards walked off, chattering to themselves. Just as he closed the door and turned around, he stopped in his tracks, otherwise he would have smacked his head into Rose's. She was hanging up-side down, in a meditation position. Trip would know, he works with a Vulcan. Her eyes were firmly closed, her breathing slow and the gem in her head was glowing gently.

Trip slowly walked around her to the bunk, where Malcolm was resting. "Hey, Mal!" he whispered quietly, trying to get the lieutenant's attention.

Malcolm stirred in his sleep, then opened a steel grey eye. "Huh?"

Trip just smiled. "You alright?" he asked, as Malcolm sat up.

The lieutenant rubbed his head. "I'm fine now, just had to sleep it off."

"Good to hear," Trip smiled. "Don't want you getting food poisoning on me."

Malcolm let out a slight laugh, then noticed Rose. "What on earth is she doing?" he asked.

"Meditating by the looks of it," Trip replied. "But if you ask me, it's a strange method she's using."

Malcolm nodded in return, sliding his legs around to the edge of the bunk. "So, what did the captain want?"

"Oh, the engines were damaged, and he asked me whether I could look at them later." Trip paused for a second. "He really insisted I rest, didn't want me around the place."

Malcolm thought for a moment. "Sounds as if they're up to something." he looked back at the commander. "Sir? Maybe we shouldn't get too involved with this battle."

"I'm not planning to," Trip replied with a slight grin. "But I do want to help Rose."

Malcolm couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Commander. What is it with you and liking attractive young female aliens?"

Trip looked over at Malcolm in disbelief. "What are you trying to say, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Malcolm just smiled lightly. "Oh, nothing Commander."

Trip just raised an eyebrow. "Well… you keep it to 'oh nothing' then Malcolm."

They both turned their attention to Rose, who was laughing under her breath. She noticed the silence and opened her eye, looking at them, "I'm sorry, you two. Your discussion was quite humorous."

"You were listening?" Trip asked.

"Well…" Rose started, as she got down, "...It couldn't be helped. Your voices were quite loud."

"We were whispering," Malcolm said, standing up to stretch.

Rose indicated her pointed ears. "I'm very good at hearing, Malcolm. A mere whisper is like normal talking to me." She then smiled lightly to the lieutenant. "And I'll take what you said about me as a compliment."

Malcolm just laughed lightly, as Trip also stood up. "Hey, Rose?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are the Kractens up to anything?" he asked her.

Rose thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Not that I know of, why?"

Trip shrugged. "It could be nothing, but Morac didn't want me around. I seem to have the feeling that they are planning something they don't want us to know."

"That is strange," Rose said, walking to the door.

She pressed the open panel, but it didn't open. She tried again. Still nothing. Walking over to the comm. she contacted the Bridge. "Captain Morac? Why can't we leave our room?"

Morac's voice replied. "We're sorry, but you cannot leave. Orders from the council."

Rose closed the channel down, then turned to the two humans. "I have a bad feeling about this…" she murmured, then went to the computer.

Malcolm looked at the commander, then back at Rose. "What do you mean?"

Rose was busy typing into the console. "It doesn't seem to add up. The council said it was fine for me to walk around, but now? I have a feeling Morac is up to something."

Trip walked over to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to hack into the comm. service," she replied. "I'm going to see if there are any communications coming through. Ha! Here we go."

She accessed the comm. as a crackled voice came through. At first, they couldn't understand it. "I'll try and make it clearer," Rose said, typing into the console again. After a few seconds, the words were understandable.

"… have you got the escapees?" a male voice asked.

"All three, sir," another voice replied.

"That's Morac!" Rose said, "but I don't know who he's talking to,"

"Good. I'll send a vessel over to you at 04.00 hours," the other person replied.

"Yes, Emperor, we will be ready," Morac replied, as the comm. was finished.

Rose sat there is disbelief. Trip looked at her. "Um… Rose, you ok?"

She stood up, and was silent for a few seconds, till she just screamed out in anger, causing the commander and lieutenant to back away. "What!? That two faced, sonofabitch! What the hell is he playing at?"

Trip gulped slightly. "I take it this is bad?"

"Bad?" she shouted. "Bad? That doesn't even cover what's going on! Morac is handing us to the Emperor. Just wait till I get my hands on him."

Malcolm looked around, his protective side kicking in. "What should we do?" he asked, staring at Rose.

She walked past the two, and grabbed something from under the bunk. It was a large bag. "We're getting out of here, that's what," she replied. "Does your ship still work?"

Trip nodded. "It should. We only took a few bumps and bruises."

She nodded. "That's a relief. My ship was nearly destroyed."

Rose opened the bag, and rooted around the contents, till she pulled out two weapons, which turned out to be the phase pistols Malcolm and Trip had. "I kept these safe for you. The security personnel were being very careless with them," she said, handing the two weapons to them, then pulled out another weapon. A slightly large hand gun, which looked similar to the phase pistols.

"We can't get out," Malcolm said in frustration. "The doors are locked."

Rose didn't seem to be paying attention. She just pointed her gun at the door and fired at it. A long blue beam shot from the weapon, burning straight through the door. Making a circle with it, she stopped, walking towards the door and kicked the circle of metal out. "There. Now we can get out," she said, pulling herself through.

Trip and Malcolm just looked at each other, till the lieutenant indicated the door. "After you, Commander," he said.

Trip nodded, and went after Rose. Standing in the corridor along with Rose, the two of them waited for Malcolm. "Right," Rose said as Malcolm appeared next to them. "Most of the crew are probably resting, as it is night shift."

Trip nodded, looking around the corner. "Which is probably for the better."

Malcolm nodded, keeping an eye behind them. Rose took the lead, heading down the corridor. After a few minutes, they had made their way to the shuttle bay without being stopped. Rose paused in her tracks. "This is too easy," she murmured.

Malcolm nodded, "I have to agree. There are no guards holding the ship."

Trip shrugged. "Maybe they didn't expect us to escape, or find out what they are planning."

"Or it's a trap," Malcolm said.

"Always look on the bad side of things, Lieutenant," Trip laughed lightly, as they made there way down to the shuttle pod.

Malcolm paused for a second, as he thought he saw movement on the other side of the shuttle bay. Trip turned to him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Malcolm was about to reply as he saw something move again, "Commander! Watch out!" he cried, as he threw himself at Trip.

The commander was knocked backwards, as a laser blast flew over his head. Rose ducked down as well. "I thought this was a trap," she said to herself.

Malcolm returned fire as Trip shuffled to Rose. "What? And you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't think I'd need to!" she replied, as more fire blasts were shot at them. "You two, get to the shuttle. I'll cover you."

Malcolm looked. "That happens to be my job," he said, returning fire.

Rose just glared at him. "Just get to the shuttle pod!" she cried out over the noise.

Malcolm growled as he and Trip dashed for the shuttle pod. Opening the door, Trip climbed inside, Malcolm behind. The commander dashed to the controls, starting the engines up as Malcolm looked out. "Rose! Come on!"

Rose stopped firing upon the Kractens and made a dash for the shuttlepod. Malcolm held a hand out to her and practically pulled the young lady inside with ease, slamming the shuttle door behind her. Rose looked around the inside of the craft. "a bit small, isn't it," she murmured to herself, as Malcolm sat down next to Trip.

The craft shook as laser fire rained down on it. Trip looked out of the view screen. "The main bay doors are locked!"

Rose peered over his shoulder to have a look, noticing they were in fact shut. "Leave that to me," she said, moving back.

Trip was too busy trying to keep the craft up to see what Rose was doing, but Malcolm looked behind him, watching the Hitaru. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged with her eyes shut, the crystals in her forehead and in her stomach glowing furiously. Trip was looking at the console, when it started to bleep. "Huh? The bay is starting to de-pressurise, the doors are opening."

The Kractens who were firing upon them, started to exit the room madly. The shuttle pod slowly made its way to the bay doors, as they instantly shot opene, sucking Shuttlepod one, and the few Kractens who were too slow, into space. Trip ignited the thrusters and they shot off away from the ship, which didn't seem to be in pursuit.

Malcolm sighed, looking at the commander. "I still think that was too easy," he said. "why are they not following us?"

Trip scanned the ship, "The engines are down. That is probably why the Emperor was sending a ship over to collect us."

Malcolm nodded, standing up as he turned to Rose "May I ask you something?" he said.

Rose opened her eyes. "Yes, Malcolm?"

"Was that you who opened the doors?"

Rose shook her head and stood up. "No, that would be impossible. I entered the mind of a Kracten who was in the bay, and told him to de-pressurise the bay and open the doors."

Trip looked over to Rose as well. "So… Where to now?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Would your ship be anywhere near us?"

"No," the commander replied. "They would still be a few days yet."

"Then it looks like we will have to go to my home planet," Rose said. "It is only a few hours from here."

She walked over to Trip and placed the co-ordinates into the computer. Trip nodded. "well, we might as well check to see if there are any provisions still on board. I'm peckish."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Do you humans always eat?"

Malcolm looked at her in puzzlement, as he allocated a few ration packs. "What do you mean 'always'? We eat around three to four times a day."

Trip opened a ration pack and started to eat. "How much to you eat?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Once every two days."

"You must get very hungry," Malcolm commented.

Rose shrugged. "I'm use to it now, after spending twenty years in a cell."

Trip paused and held out a small packet to her. "Here… Try some," he smiled. "It's not the best, but it has no animal organs in either."

Rose smiled, taking it. "Good, I'm a vegetarian anyway," she said, opening the packet.

Malcolm nodded. "Probably why you didn't eat the Gromek… what's it called?"

"Gromik'an," Rose said, as she quickly ate the contents of the ration pack.

The three of them sat there in silence, till Rose looked up at them. "So, what's it like on Earth?" she asked, curiosity in her eyes.

Trip finished his mouthful before he began to speak. "Well… it's a mixture really. Most of our planet is covered with water, couple of islands, stuff like that. I come from America, which is why I have this accent."

Rose turned to Malcolm. "Why don't you have that accent?" she asked.

"That's because I'm British," The lieutenant smiled.

"Oh," Rose thought for a moment. "So you have different species of humans on your planet?"

Trip smiled lightly. "I suppose you could put it like that,"

Rose finished her food off. "How strange. Back on my planet, we only had one species, Hitaru, and not a lot of sub-species, which is probably why females are vegetarians."

Rose stretched out, yawning as she rubbed her eyes. Malcolm laughed lightly. "Maybe you should get some sleep," he said.

Rose nodded, "yeah… I haven't had a decent sleep in… 20 years." She laughed lightly at the two humans' expressions.

With that said, she curled up where she sat, tail wrapped around her, and fell instantly to sleep. Malcolm sighed, relaxing in his chair as he looked over at Trip "So, what do you think about our little friend?"

Trip placed his empty ration pack next to him. "Are you trying to imply something?" he smirked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh no, no, commander," Malcolm smiled.

Trip stared at him for a moment longer, then looked back at the sleeping form of Rose, smiling to himself. "You have to agree she's very pretty."

Malcolm laughed lightly. "I suppose so, but whenever we do come across a female alien, you always fall for them."

"Not all of them," he laughed back. "I didnt fall for the Orion women like you did."

"If.." Malcolm started, "I had a choice, I wouldnt have... Green's not my colour." He then looked up at Trip' "so, why werent you affected?"

Trip thought for a moment. "I think T'pol said something about being 'bonded' or something."

"Oh," Malcolm smirked, "I didnt think you too actually..."

"We didnt!" Trip snapped not so nicely. "We're bonded mentally, I think. Haven't daydreamed about her for a few days though."

"You daydreamed about her?"

Trip glared at him "A conversation for another time."

The two men carried on conversing, while the shuttle pod slowly made its way towards the small forest planet of Hitaria. But little did they know that they were being set up.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Sorry this chapter is so short; it's more of an introduction anyway :P

**Accomplished**

Chapter five -

Captain Jonathan Archer walked slowly down the corridor, reading the PADD he had in his hand. His green eyes sparkled as he looked up, sighting Hoshi in the distance. "Any word, Hoshi?" he asked her, as she came towards him.

The young lady shook her head. "No, sir."

A sigh escaped Archer's lips as he pondered for a moment. It had been three days since they had left Trip and Malcolm, and there was still no sign of the two. Probably got themselves into a bit of trouble, as usual, he thought to himself, then returned his attention to his communications officer.

Hoshi smiled. "I'm sure they're ok," she replied, as if reading his thoughts.

Archer nodded. "Let's hope so," he laughed lightly, then handed her the PADD. "Can you make any sense of this?" he asked.  
Hoshi took it and had a look. The screen was covered in a strange language, but Hoshi couldn't tell what any of it said. "I'm afraid not, sir. I've never seen writing like this."

Archer frowned and took the PADD back. "We received this signal not long ago, but when we arrived, there was nothing here." He looked back at the PADD. "Whatever it was, it's gone now."

"Do you think it has anything to do with Trip and Malcolm?" Hoshi asked.

Archer just shrugged. "I haven't got a clue, Hoshi."

Archer noticed the worried look upon Hoshi's face. He gave her a reassuring smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine."

Hoshi couldn't help but give off a small laugh. "When those two are together, they always get into trouble." A sigh escaped her lips. "But I am worried, sir."

"Everyone is," Archer told her. "Those two are well-loved officers on board."  
Hoshi nodded in return, as she had recently come close to Trip and mostly Malcolm. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if they were in some kind of danger. Deep down, she knew they would look out for each other, but what scared her was that she knew Malcolm would risk his life to keep Trip out of trouble, and she did not want the armoury officer to fall.

Archer just patted her shoulder lightly. "We'll keep looking," he told her as he started to walk away towards the bridge.

Hoshi nodded and looked at the floor as she slowly made her way to her quarters.

T'pol was sitting in the command chair as Archer entered. Standing up, she placed her arms behind her back and nodded a greeting to him. "Sir."

Archer replied by smiling at his sub-commander. "T'pol. Any word?"

She shook her head slightly. "We've scanned the surrounding area, but there is no sign of Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed."

"Keep searching," Archer ordered, sitting down in his chair.

T'pol acknowledged this and walked to her own station, tapping at the commands before her. Archer pressed the balls of his fingertips to his temple, as he closed his eyes, praying to who ever could be bothered to listen for Trip and Malcolm's safe return.

He was ripped back to the bridge as T'pol called out his rank. "Captain."

He turned to the Vulcan. "Yes?"

She was looking at her screen, but turned away for a split second to look at Archer. "There's a ship on intercept course."

"Put it on screen," Archer said, standing up.

T'pol nodded, as a picture appeared on the view screen. It was of a large silver ship, with a lumpy underside. There were large blast marks across its hull, with huge dents and holes in the sides and top. T'pol returned her attention to the console. "I'm detecting very little power and life support. Engines are offline, and only six life signs on board."

The large ship was slowly drifting towards them, spinning slightly. Archer looked over at Travis. "Bring us closer." He then turned to T'pol. "Can you get a transporter lock on them?"

She worked at her station, and being rewarded with a bleep, she nodded.  
Archer nodded. "Notify Phlox we have casualties coming in. Beam them aboard."


	6. Chapter 6

**Morac**

Chapter Six –

Captain Archer entered the medi-bay, where Phlox was hovering over one of the injured crew. The Denobulan looked up at him, a wide smile across his face. "Ah, Captain, I'm glad you came down."

"He looks in a bad state," Archer said.

Phlox nodded. "I'm surprised, with the amount of damage caused to their bodies, that these three have survived this long."

"Three?" Archer said. "We picked up six."

Phlox sighed. "I'm afraid the rest didn't make it, Captain."

The eyes of the injured alien Phlox was currently treating opened slightly trying to see where he was. He groaned in pain as a burning feeling soared up his spine. "What… happened?" he croaked.

Archer walked over to him. "Take it easy. You're on board the starship, Enterprise."

"Enterprise." The alien seemed to smile. "You must be Captain Archer then?"

Archer looked confused. "How do you know me?"

The alien tried to move his head towards the Captain. "We picked up two humans, one by the name of Commander Tucker, the other Lieutenant Reed."

Archer looked worried. "They weren't on the ship when…"

"No," the alien replied before the Captain could finish. "They escaped, with an important prisoner."

Archer moved closer. "You had my crewmen as prisoners?" His voice had a slight growl to it.

The alien winced again, his eyes clenched shut. Phlox moved towards them. "I insist he gets some rest."

"No!" the alien replied. "Archer must know what is happening, his crewmen rely on it." He paused for a second, opening his eyes again. "My name is Captain Morac. I am… was... with the rebellion, a small force against the Kracten Emperor who murdered the High Council to claim all power for himself. But the Emperor came to me, offering a reward for capturing an escapee. He offered me and my crew freedom if we found her." He stopped, breathing heavily as fresh silver blood trickled down his forehead.

"Take your time," Archer said quietly.

Morac nodded. "We found her, but acted as if we were still part of the rebellion."

Archer looked at Phlox, then back at Morac. "How does this involve my crewmen?"

Morac gasped sharply. "Commander Tucker was a fine engineer, and Lieutenant Reed was a tactical officer. Emperor Kracta was going to take them prisoner and force them to upgrade his ships with technology he couldn't imagine, but Rose was smarter then we thought."

"Rose?" Archer asked.

Morac nodded. "The original prisoner. She is the last of her race after they were nearly wiped out by Kracta. We still don't know why he did it. Some say because they did not agree to help him with this war. When Kracta found out we had lost them, he was furious. He sent twelve ships to destroy us, but a few of us survived." A tear fell down his cheek, mixing with the silver blood. "We had families on board. A hundred women and children, including my own son, and he killed them!"

Without warning Morac's hand grabbed hold of Archer's arm. "You must find them first, Captain Archer. If Kracta gets his hands on the 'Divine Source' he will be able to destroy whole systems. You must not let him reach Rose!"

Archer placed a hand on Morac's shoulder. "What is the 'Divine Source'?"

"The most powerful element known," Morac replied. "The Hitarus created it many years ago. Kracta believed Rose knew where it was, but she never told, not even after twenty years of torture."

Archer looked at Morac with desperation. "Do you know where they will be now?"

Morac nodded slightly. "Knowing him, they will have gone to one of the outer moons of Hitaria. Kracta believed that there was a hidden research base on one of them, but he didn't know which one." He coughed hard, closing his eyes again.

Phlox intervened. "Now I really think he should rest."

Archer released his grip on the Kracten. "I think we have enough information now." He looked back up at Phlox. "Will he make it?"

Phlox nodded. "If he gets plenty of rest and treatment, there's a possibility."

Archer nodded. "Good. We may need more information about this 'Kracta' person. Inform me the next time he's strong enough to talk."

"Yes, Captain," Phlox replied as Archer left the infirmary.

---

Hoshi was sitting in the mess hall, when Travis walked in. Both had finished their shifts now and had arranged to meet there. The female ensign had been sitting there for a few minutes, thinking about the commander and lieutenant, and hoping they would come back safe and sound.

"Hoshi," Travis greeted her as he walked over with a coffee in his hand.

Hoshi smiled in return as Travis sat next to her.

"Have you heard anything about the survivors?" she asked the helmsman.

Travis shook his head as he sipped at his drink.

"No. All I know is that they're not human."

Hoshi looked back down at her own drink, which sat untouched.

"I'm worried about them," she sighed, poking the cup with a slim finger.

Travis gave her a weak smile.

"We all are, Hoshi. Those two are well loved on board."

Hoshi looked at Travis. "Do you think they are all right? Some people say they could be…"

"Don't think that," Travis said quite sternly. "Knowing Malcolm, he wouldn't let anything like that happen. They're probably having their own adventure as we speak."

"Knowing those two," Hoshi smiled, "they are probably causing disasters as we speak."

"That too," Travis laughed softly. "They always seem to get into trouble when they're together."

Hoshi noticed there was someone else walking towards them. She looked up; seeing it was a young lady she hadn't seen before.

"Hi," the ensign said. "Um… is it ok if I sit here? Everywhere else is packed."

Hoshi smiled and patted the seat next to her. "Of course. You're new aren't you? I don't recognise you."

The lady nodded. "Just signed on in security. My name is Katherine Barnes, but people just call me Kat."

Kat had long brown hair, which was tied back into a high ponytail. She had bright green eyes and a small petite nose, her skin a rich tan. Hoshi could tell she was British, because of her accent. It wasn't as strong as Malcolm's, but nevertheless it was British. A cup of tea was held tightly in her hands as she sipped at it.

"Nice to meet you, Kat," Hoshi smiled. "I'm Hoshi Sato, and this is Travis Mayweather." She indicated the helmsman, who smiled at Kat.

Kat nodded. "Yes, I've heard of you two. Most of the senior staff on board are the talk of the academy."

"Really?" Hoshi smiled, quite impressed with herself.

Kat smiled back, drinking her tea. Travis looked at her. "Why did you join Starfleet security?"

The ensign just swirled the tea around in her mug.

"Well... ever since I was little, I always looked out for other people. There were so many times I nearly died just to save my friends." She laughed lightly.

Travis also laughed. "Reminds me of Malcolm."

Kat looked up. "Oh yes, Lieutenant Reed. Never really met him before, only briefly, you know, passing in the corridor."

Hoshi nodded, as the Comm beeped. "Bridge to Ensign Mayweather."

Travis apologised to the two ladies and stood up. "Mayweather here."

"You're required on the bridge. Is Sato with you?"

"Here," Hoshi replied.

"You're also needed."

Travis nodded. "We're on our way," he replied as he stopped the communication.

Kat stood up. "Nice chatting to you," she smiled.

Hoshi waved at Kat. "See you later."

Kat waved back as the two ensigns disappeared off towards the Bridge.

---

Archer was pacing the bridge as Travis and Hoshi walked in from the turbo lift, making their way to their stations. Archer walked over to Travis, who sat himself down.

"Set course for Hitaria, full speed," he said, walking back to his own command chair and sitting down. He glanced over at T'pol, who just nodded her head.

"Aye, sir," Travis replied, tapping at his station.

Archer sighed, relaxing in the chair as he watched the stars zip across the view screen. He just hoped they would be there on time to stop Kracta, and to save his friends.


	7. Chapter 7

**(( Authors note: The original characters DO NOT belong to me, only Rose is, she MINE!!!!**

I'm sorry this chapter is also short, the next one WILL NOT BE! It's going to be quite long, when I get around to it. ))

**Truths**

Chapter Seven –

Sleep had overcome the Commander, as he sat there slumped against the pilot's seat. His dreams were clouded with that dreadful day back on Earth, just over two years ago. The death of his little sister, Elizabeth. In his mind, she had died twice, first as a young lady, then as a child. He still wondered how T'pol felt about their 'daughter's' death, but because of her physiology, she never showed her true feelings. But for once, it wasn't the explosion in his mind that woke him up.

Tucker's eyes snapped opened as he sat up, gasping to himself as if he was held under water for an age and a half. Looking around, he noticed Malcolm was also in a deep sleep, his face peaceful. He heard it again, a stricken whimpering.

Looking over at Rose, he noticed the young Hitaru thrashing about on the floor, whimpering and crying. Getting up, he hurried to her side, as he notice a cut across her arm, which healed instantly. 'Another trick she has', he thought to himself.

He grabbed her shoulders gently. "Rose!" he whispered. "Rose, wake up!"

Her eyes opened suddenly, as fresh tears fell down her slender cheeks, "Trip?" she muttered.

The Commander nodded. Rose stifled a cry of relief, "I thought I was there… I thought… he had me." She bit her lip to stop crying out.

Trip nearly fell over as she hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest. The commander blinked and held her close to him. He wanted to protect her, keep her safe. He felt her tears dampen his uniform, feeling her body shake as she cried softly. He placed his hands against her back, onto her hot skin, and that's when he felt them.

Long ridges across her back, horribly deep and ragged. Scars. Whip scars. Rose didn't move away when his fingers trailed over them. "Did he do this to you?" Trip asked.

He felt Rose nod, as she moved closer to him, feeling comfort next to the human. "I couldn't heal properly…" she sniffed. "… I don't know why, I was only 17 when this happened… sometimes, I would heal, but then…" she paused, gritting her teeth.

Tucker ran a hand over her hair, and opened his mouth to say something, when he heard Malcolm stir. Rose released her grip on him and sat in the corner, wiping her eyes furiously and Malcolm looked over at them. "Huh? Is everything ok?"

"Fine, Malcolm," Rose replied before Trip could explain. She glanced over at the commander with a strange look, as if telling him 'Don't say a word'.

Malcolm just nodded and returned his gaze to the view screen, stretching, as Trip sat down next to him, looking over at the Lieutenant. "Good nap?" he smiled.

The Brit looked at him with tired eyes. "Could have done with longer, Trip."

"Snap," Trip replied, looking out.

They both then realised the huge planet that loomed in front of them. Trip stared at it. "Is that… Hitaria?" he asked.

Rose moved over towards them, her face back to its usual happiness, something that confused Tucker. "Yes, but we're not going there. You two wouldn't last a second on it." She noticed their expressions. "Temperatures of 120 degrees," she explained.

Tucker gave off a low whistle. "I'm surprised you survived down there."

Rose just blinked and leaned over him, pointing towards a smaller green planet. "That's where we're going, the moon Acknori."

Malcolm looked at her. "Why?"

Trip remembered that Malcolm had no idea about the 'Divine Source' and the research facility. He and Rose quickly explained what was going on, and the tactical officer nodded, but clearly was disappointed at not being notified earlier.

"So," Malcolm started, "we're going to find this 'source' before Kracta does. But do you actually know where it is?" he asked Rose.

She nodded. "I've only visited the place once, but I believe I can take us there."

The shuttle suddenly shuddered, causing the three to panic. Malcolm looked at Trip. "That wasn't laser fire."

Trip nodded. "Something hit us!"

Rose grabbed hold of Malcolm's seat as the craft rocked again. "That doesn't make sense! What could possibly be hitting us?"

All three noticed the small rocks that whizzed across the view screen as the shuttle bumped again. A looked of shock and disbelief covered Rose's face. "What? What is the date?" she cried out.

Malcolm looked at her. "I think it's the 3rd November. Why?"

Rose looked at them. "Get us out of here. There's a comet coming straight for us!"

Tucker looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Every third day of the 11 month, the comet, Kirania, comes past Hitaria," Rose replied, her voice high pitched and worried.

The shuttle shuddered again, as the console in front of Malcolm started to bleep. "We've just lost sensors!" he said in alarm.

Tucker took the controls. "Where's Travis when you need him," he muttered to himself as he took manual control of the craft.

Manoeuvring the shuttlepod towards Acknori, they flew out of the rock cloud, but it seemed the meteor wanted to give them a gift.

Tucker growled as the shuttle shuddered violently. Malcolm looked over at him as Tucker seemed to be worried. "What's wrong, Trip?"

Tucker sighed angrily as he punched at the console. "I've lost control. The engines are not responding."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked, shouting over the noise the shuttle seemed to give off, as wire hissed and spluttered.

Trip looked at her, as Acknori loomed out in front of them "It means 'brace yourself', Rose. We're in for a bumpy landing!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Bad landing**

Chapter Eight –

The hull of the shuttlepod started to glow red as it flew straight into the atmosphere at an accelerating rate. Tucker's forehead was damp from sweat as he battled with the controls. Malcolm glanced over at him as Rose huddled down.

"We're coming in too fast!" he cried out over the noise.

Tucker glanced at him for a split second, and then returned to the console. "I hadn't noticed!" he shouted back.

Rose looked over at them, then returned her attention to the floor, rocking backwards and forwards as the shuttle shook violently. Trees sped past the windscreen as they dived down, leaves smacking against them.

Tucker blinked as a bead of sweat ran into his eyes.

"There isn't a clearing anywhere!"

Malcolm just grasped hold of his seat, his stomach threatening to get rid of his meal.

"We'll just have to make one!" he cried out, his eyes wide.

The shuttle ploughed straight into the ground, skimming across the leaf-ridden floor, till it finally collided with a small tree, and came to a halt. Shuttlepod One's battered hull shimmered in the glowing sunlight as the nature around settled back down, completely forgetting something had just landed in their midst.

Tucker blinked and looked up, feeling something very warm flowing down his cheek. He groaned, raising a hand to his head.

"Mal? You ok?" He glanced over at the brunette.

Malcolm looked up, a bruise forming along his jaw.

"Jesus! My jaw's killing me, but other than that, all limbs intact. You?"

Trip nodded. "Just sliced my cheek." He then glanced over at Rose, who was wrapped up in a ball. "Hey, back there. You ok?"

She looked up, smiled wanly. "Are we still alive?"

Trip laughed lightly, "Yeah. The last time I checked we were."

She stood up, dusting off her uniform. Tucker looked at her. She seemed fine, but even if she did hurt herself, she would only have healed instantly. How he envied her.

Malcolm stood up, and walked to the door. "I'm going to have a look around," he said, making sure his phase pistol was still on his hip as he opened the door, climbing outside.

Trip was about to follow till he felt Rose's hand on his shoulder. "Hang on," she said, "you're not going anywhere. You're injured."

Tucker placed a finger on his cut. "It's only a scratch."

Rose turned him around to face her. "I don't care, Mr Tucker," she said.

The way she said his name made him feel like a school kid being told off. He just sighed as Rose pushed him back into his seat.

"Really! It will be fine, Rose."

She just shook her head. "You can't leave this cut open when we go out there. You could get all kinds of infections." She paused, holding his face in her hands as she inspected the wound.

Tucker could feel her breath against his skin. His heart seemed to tighten as her face got closer; he hadn't felt this way since… A smile tugged at his lips as Rose's hand ran across his face towards the cut, her face only a few millimetres away from his own. He stared into her eyes, and lost himself in the purple misty optics, not noticing the blue aura that radiated from her hand hovering over the wound. He felt compelled to lean forward, to touch her lips with his own. But as he did, Rose moved back, sensing his thoughts, but his her shock.

He was pulled back to reality at her movements. "There," she said, smiling lightly, "all done."

Trip blinked a few times, confused at what he was doing, what he was going to do. He placed his hand on his cheek, only to feel skin, soft new skin, where the wound once was. The southerner looked up at Rose, who only smiled in return. "What?" he said, baffled.

Rose tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "It's complicated," she said, as Malcolm's head appeared in the doorway.

"Seems safe," he told the two of them, "Nothing threatening around us."

Malcolm helped Rose out of the shuttle and turned to Trip. "Your cheek?" he said.

Trip just waved a hand at him, as he hopped out. "Don't ask," he muttered, then smiled again, "'cause I don't know either."

They both turned to Rose, who was busy inspecting the area. She then looked up at the sky, her tail wrapping around a thin tree trunk to steady herself.

"It will be dark in two hours," she told them, "we can either go on, or camp here till morning."

Trip looked at Malcolm for advice. "We should stay here; we wouldn't get far in two hours," he said.

Malcolm nodded in return, "I agree, but we have no provisions."

"Leave that to me," Rose replied. "I know which plants are edible."

Malcolm looked at her. "You can't go on your own."

She shrugged. "And one of you can't be left here on your own. I'll be fine," she said, giving them a reassuring smile.

Trip bit his lip. "Malcolm's right, you know."

The Hitaru sighed lightly, rolling her purple eyes. "Fine, fine," she said, looking at Malcolm. "If you are suggesting you come, I strongly disagree. You're in no fit state to wander around. You may have concussion, by the looks of that bruise."

Trip looked over at the Brit. "You should stay here, Mal. You need rest."

Malcolm couldn't help but growl in annoyance. He didn't want to let his commanding officer and friend wander around on an uncharted planet, but did not complain. He sat down on the edge of the Shuttlepod, holding his head.

Trip looked at Rose, as if about to ask her to do the same for Malcolm as she did for him, but she cut him off.

"Out of the question, Trip, I can only heal cuts with ease. Marks and mentality? No, I don't have enough energy for that. All he needs is to be still."

Malcolm looked up at Trip. "Don't worry about me, Commander. Just keep an eye out for trouble, and come back in one piece, not as someone's meal. Ok?"

Trip smiled lightly, grasping Malcolm's shoulder. "I'll be back as fast as I can, Mal," he replied.

Rose nodded. "Malcolm, its best if you stay inside the shuttle. We'll bang on the door two or three times when we return."

Malcolm agreed as he handed Trip his phase pistol. "Take it with you, just in case."

Trip nodded, walking over towards Rose, tucking the phase pistol into his belt. "Lead on, Rose," he smiled.

Rose just grinned in return, waving at Malcolm. "See you in a bit."

Malcolm just grunted and nodded back, climbing into the shuttle. "You'd better, or there will be hell to pay."

Trip laughed as Malcolm shut the door behind him.

He turned back to Rose as he felt her hand wrap around his own. "Come on," she smiled, "we haven't got all day."

Tucker looked up the tree, a hand to his eyes as he squinted at the figure high up in the branches. "You all right?" he called up.

It took a few seconds for Rose to reply. "Yes! I'm a natural at this."

Trip laughed to himself, "I can see that, monkey."

"I heard that!" she called back down. "Watch out!"

Trip barely had enough time to dodge out of the way as a large green object fell down, smashing into the floor.

"Whoa!" he cried out, nearly toppling over. "You watch out!"

"Sorry!"

Trip picked the large object up. It weighed about two kilos and had a fuzzy top. It reminded the commander of a coconut, with the exception that it was green and squishy. He was surprised it hadn't exploded when it hit the ground. Looking back up, his head nearly collided with Rose's as she clung to the edge of the tree upside down, her tail wrapped around a lower branch.

"It's a Jorka," she told the confused American. "If I'm not mistaken, it's similar to an Earth, um… what's it called? Mango, that's it!"

Trip couldn't help but laugh. "You've been doing your homework."

Rose smiled and twisted around, landing on the ground gently. "Just natural curiosity keeps me going, Trip."

Trip noticed the Hitaru smirk. "What?" he said, placing the fruit into the bag he was currently carrying with him.

Rose looked away, sprinting towards a small bush. "Nothing," she replied, burying herself in the bush.

Trip walked up behind her, looking at the strange plant Rose was investigating.

"T

here's nothing growing on this," he said, trailing his fingers over the brown grey leaves.

He looked down at her, seeing soil fly out from under the bush.

"Not on it no," she replied, her voice muffled by the plant. "Underneath it, yes. I'll only be a moment."

Trip nearly jumped out of his skin when her tail brushed past his leg, snaking around on the floor as if it had a mind of its own. Gulping, he returned his attention to the bush, investigating the strange coloured leaves.

"What kind of plant is this?"

"A Frilonia. In your tongue, silver leaf," she replied.

"Figures," Trip whispered, plucking a dead leaf off with his fingers.

He noticed something small on the leaf, a strange symbol. He nudged Rose with his foot. "Um.. Rose? What is this?" he asked.

Rose got up, shaking dirt from herself. "What's what?" she asked, looking at him.

Trip handed her the leaf, pointing at the symbol. Rose looked at him, her eyes half shut as she concentrated. "Oh dear," was all she could say.

"What do you mean, 'Oh dear'?" Trip asked, shifting the bag on his shoulder into a more comfortable position.

Rose looked back up at him. "What if I told you there was an ancient warrior race, which was believed to be extinct, but was actually still alive and very close to us. What would you say?"

Trip thought for a moment. "I'd ask if they were harmless."

Rose shook her head. "Bad move," she said, grasping his arm. "We have to get out of here before they find out we are here!"

Trip was yanked away as Rose pulled him. "Who?" he asked, trying to keep up with the Hitaru.

It took her a while for her to answer. "The Hitariks!"

Trip was now very confused. He pulled on Rose, causing her to nearly collide with him.

"Now hang on," he said, keeping her still. "Who and what are they?"

Rose growled, trying to move. "If we don't get going, you'll see them very soon! They are a race, similar to us, except they never evolved, they are still primitive."

Trip held onto her. "Are they dangerous?"

Rose shrugged. "Maybe. Can we get a move on?!"

They carried on running, till the Shuttlepod came into view. Trip skidded to a halt, feeling Rose do the same thing behind him. He looked around, making sure the cost was clear.

"Ok, Rose," he said, keeping his eye on the shuttle. "When I give the word, we'll dash for the pod. Ok?"

Rose didn't reply. He frowned and turned to her, "I said…" he never finished.

Rose was thrashing about in the arms of a huge creature. Her eyes went wide as she shouted out, "Behind you!"

Trip turned and narrowly missed a claw swipe at his head, as the creature holding Rose growled out, "Get the daemon!" in perfect English.

Trip felt a clawed hand grab his back as something lifted him from the ground. He kicked out, but two strong arms wrapped around him, nearly suffocating the commander. He turned his head, only to face the monster, its blood-stained fangs glittering in the fading sunlight. He stared into the crazed eyes of the Hitarik, as another walked beside him.

The last thing Trip remembered before blackness engulfed him was Rose screaming in terror.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine –

Malcolm Reed was in a murderous mood. He couldn't believe he got himself caught by some aliens. Upon hearing Rose scream, he exited the shuttle, trying to see what was causing the distress, when something large grabbed him. Malcolm actually thought the creature bit him.

And now here he was, stripped of his uniform and tied to a pole. The Commander, in a similar fashion, was next to him, still unconscious. Shuffling around the pole, he prodded Trip with his bare toes, "Commander?" he called out.

Trip stirred slightly, till his bruised eyes opened. "Huh? Is that you, Mal?"

The Lieutenant nodded. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned, as he watched the Southerner sit up, wincing in pain.

"Felt better," he replied with a laugh, then realised he was only in his underwear. "Geez! I swear, Mal, I'll get through the day keeping my uniform on."

Malcolm couldn't help but laugh. "It's a good sign. You always seem to save the day when you're in your underwear."

"True." he replied, "but it's still damned embarrassing." He paused looking around. "Where's Rose?" he asked in alarm.

Malcolm shrugged, wincing as the ropes dug into his wrists. "I haven't seen her, Sir."

Trip looked up at him through swollen eyes. "Where are we?" He turned. "Can't see very well."

Malcolm looked for him.

There were a few tents in front of them, a fire still burning brightly. The sky was light, obviously dawn, and a large creature sat by the flames, warming up. "Seems we are in some kind of encampment," Malcolm told him.

Trip sighed painfully. "Damn! My ribs feel as if they've been crushed by a ton of weights!" He looked back at Malcolm, who was still watching the camp like a hawk.

All of a sudden, an ear-piercing scream emitted from one of the tents, as a figure was thrown out, colliding with the fire. Trip looked up, knowing the scream very well, as a huge creature exited the tent, grabbing the young lady by her hair. Rose cried out in agony as the fire ate into her flesh, till the Hitarik threw her across the camp like a rag doll, causing her to land heavily a few metres from Trip.

There was a strange collar around her neck, causing great pain for her every time it glowed brightly. The large male Hitarik laughed, as he stomped over to Rose, kicking her. "Great pleasure in beating you, Daemon spy!"

The Hitarik looked similar to a male lion back on Earth, with the exception of two long pointed ears, and that they stood on their hind legs like humans. The male Hitarik wore a pair of ripped trousers; his large clawed feet were bare. His torso was also bare, showing many scars and tattoos.

Anger grew in the pit of Trip's stomach, causing him to bellow at the Hitarik, "Leave her alone!"

The male, who was about to kick her again, looked down at him, "You dare speak to me, Daemon?" he growled, grabbing the Commander by the top of his vest.

Trip just snarled back, "We're not daemons! We're humans!"

The male laughed, "You can't fool me, Kracten. I know what you are."

Malcolm looked at him in confusion. "We're not Kractens. And she's a Hitaru," he shouted. "We look nothing like Kractens!"

The Hitarik paused, then glanced at Rose. "She's not a Hitaru. They are dead because of your kind! Now you come to this planet to enslave us. I won't let it happen!"

"Look at her!" Trip shouted. "She has a bloody tail and pointy ears! She's a Hitaru!"

The Hitarik went back to Rose, grabbing the sobbing lady with a clawed hand. "Surgery! There are no real Hitaru!"

Another male came over to them, the one who was around the fire at the time. An axe was currently around his waist. The Hitarik holding Rose turned to him, his free hand held out, "Give me your weapon!"

He did so with out question, and the big male held it up over Rose. "We'll see who she really is!" he roared out, bringing the axe down.

Both Trip and Malcolm winced as she cried out in pain, the axe slicing straight through her tail. Tears streamed down Rose's bruised and muddy face. Trip looked on in disbelief, watching her dismembered tail still twitching, as Malcolm clenched his teeth together.

The Hitarik male looked confused for a second, then sneered, throwing Rose towards the Commander. "Tricks. A Hitaru would heal afterwards. When my master arrives, he will decide what fate will end your sorry lives."

The two Hitariks walked off, returning to their tents. Trip looked down at Rose, who lay weeping, her hands tied in front of her. She looked dreadful. Huge bruises covered her from top to toe, the stump of her once proud tail twitched as pain seared through it. She was mumbling something, her eyes clenched closed.

"Rose?" Trip whispered to her, trying to get as close to the young lady as possible.

The Hitaru opened her eyes slowly, "Trip?" she asked. "Is… is that you?"

Trip nodded, trying to fight back tears of anger and grief. "Yes," he replied, then inspected the collar around her neck. "What is this?"

She panted for a second, then replied in quick gasps. "A prototype the Hitarus made. It was originally design to tame pets, but somehow the Hitariks have changed it to absorb my energy. I… I cannot heal properly." She paused looking up at him "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. It shouldn't. I shouldn't have brought you along."

Malcolm tried to move closer to the two. "Don't be sorry. It was either this or being with the Emperor."

She tried to laugh, but cried out in pain instead. "Actually, he may have treated you two with more respect." She tried to breathe, but found it difficult. "My ribs… they're broken. I can't…"

Trip placed a bound hand on her shoulder. "Don't move, Rose, you'll only make it worse." He inspected the collar again. "I'll see if I can do something about this."

She shook her head. "It cannot be removed. Only a specific machine in the research facility can do it; but the power supply can be broken. On… the back of the inside… collar, there's a small wire, if disconnected…. The collar should die."

Trip nodded, moving her mattered hair to look at the back of the collar. He noticed the strange patch of purple scaled skin on the back of her neck, but didn't say anything. That would be a conversation for a more pleasant time. Feeling the inside of the collar, he located the thin wire, and tried to see if there was a simple way of detaching it.

"Just… give it a good tug." She smiled weakly.

Trip nodded, using his short fingernails to practically pick the wire away. He yelped in alarm causing Malcolm to nearly leap from the pole he was tied to, as a jolt of electricity zapped his fingertips. A small bleep emitted from the device, till the faint lights died.

Rose sighed in satisfaction as the gem on her head came back to life. Sitting up, she smiled at Trip. "Thank you." She then glanced down at her ribs, which cracked as they re-joined each other. Trip couldn't help but wince at the crunching sounds. Blood stopped trickling from her stump, but the limb still didn't grow back. Turning to it, she sighed. "It'll take a few hours to grow that," she told herself, then turned to Trip, smiling lightly.

Trip just looked at her in confusion. How could she be happy at a moment like this? According to Malcolm's face, he was thinking the same thing. Hearing their thoughts, Rose just sighed happily. "Because you two are alive."

Malcolm nodded. "Good reason."

Trip just shook his head. "But what about you, I mean you've been…"

She stopped him. "I don't care what happens to me, Trip, just as long as you two are safe."

Trip gritted his teeth. "Maybe some people do care," he whispered to himself, looking away from Rose.

She blinked, obviously hearing what he said. Malcolm just looked over in confusion,. "What, Commander?" he asked, as he didn't hear what Trip had just said.

Trip looked at the Brit. "Nothing, Lieutenant," he told him, then turned back to Rose, who was looking at him in a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

_Obviously she had no idea what I meant_, he thought to himself. Receiving a shake of the head from Rose, he nodded. _Thought so_.

He felt Rose's hands on his own and looked down; seeing she was un-tying the bonds with her own bound hands. "Give me a sec, I'll have you free in no time," she told him.

Trip nodded as Rose pulled the ropes free. He sighed in happiness, feeling the blood rush back to his fingertips, giving him a tingly sensation in his hands. Watching her move over to Malcolm, he flexed his arms and legs out, cracking a few joints.

Malcolm stood up as soon as his hands were free, looking around. "We'd best get out of here soon," he said.

Trip also stood up, eyeing the Lieutenant. "And how? There's nowhere to go. The shuttlepod is still damaged, and we're in our underwear." He glanced over at Rose, who was only in a short tank top and hot pants. "That's a point. Why?"

Rose looked around then back at Trip. "I'll explain later. I know where we can go. The research facility. They were talking about it when they thought I'd fainted. It's north of here, only a few miles."

Malcolm nodded, watching the tents. "We'd best go soon, before they notice something's not right."

Rose nodded, as Trip pulled the ropes off her own hands. "Follow me."

They had been running for a full hour, till Trip cried out for them to stop. His legs ached like there was no tomorrow, as sweat poured down his body. Malcolm was in a similar position, but he had more control over the pain. Rose looked back at the tired two, and to Trip's disbelief, wasn't even breathing deeply.

A sigh escaped her lips as she bounded back to them, looking over their tired bodies. "We've only run two miles," she complained.

Trip just waved a hand at her as if swatting a fly away, as he sat down. "That's still two miles too long."

Malcolm nodded, agreeing with the Commander as he also sat down, resting his back against a tree trunk. "So, you know why all that happened to us then, Miss Rose?" Malcolm asked.

Trip also looked over at her, noticing her staring at his body. "Something… the matter?" he asked, slightly concerned. So he checked his body too.

Rose looked up at him, slightly startled. "Oh! I'm sorry. I was just thinking…" She paused for a second, then wiped her finger over his arm. "What is this?" she asked.

Trip couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Sweat. Doesn't your kind sweat?"

"Only…" she trailed off again, then returned her gaze to his face. "…Are you in season?"

Trip was shocked, not to mention very embarrassed as he heard Malcolm snort with mirth behind him. "W…what?" he stuttered, watching Rose's calm face.

She arched an eyebrow. "Sweating only occurs when one is in season or during the mating process. Since you're not in the latter, I thought…"

"Look, Rose." Trip interrupted to stop this embarrassment going any further. "We humans sweat when we push our bodies to the limit, or we become hot. And maybe the latter…" he whispered, "… but you see, humans don't go into season."

Now it was Rose's turn to look confused. "You don't? How do you prepare to mate then?"

Malcolm stayed out of the conversation, no matter how puppy faced the Commander looked at him. "We just… mate."

The young lady looked quite startled. "Just mate? So a female just... grabs you?"

Malcolm laughed lightly again as he watched Trip's face grow un-comfortable. "No. We… um, we have partners you see? Like girlfriends, or wives, stuff like that. We don't just 'grab', unless we're drunk, then that's a naughty exception."

Rose still looked blank. Then she smiled, sitting herself down in front of him. "Your species are quite... intriguing," she replied. "So… you have the same 'Mate' for life?"

"Unless we have a major fall out, yes." He eyed her for a second. "Why? Don't Hitarus?"

She shook her head. "No. Ever since our species started to die out, the females got to choose what male to mate with. Usually one female would have twenty males to choose from."

Trip laughed lightly. "So, females were in charge?"

Rose nodded. "The males were, let's say, not so clever. So the females were the brains, the male the brawn. We took care of everything. Aren't females higher than males in your species?"

Trip shook his head. "No. We're considered equals."

Malcolm thought he might add something. "But women did have protests about equal rights. Men considered them lower. Can't remember why."

Rose tilted her head to one side, thinking deeply. "Oh," was all she had to say.

Malcolm just smirked. "Well, back to the subject. Why did the Hitariks act like that?"

Rose sighed, trying to think back. "Recently, it appears that the Kractens settled down on this planet. They are enslaving the Hitariks, using the males for slaves and the females for energy and…" she stopped, looking rather disgusted, "other things. They haven't found the research facility yet, which is extremely lucky, but they are very close to finding it."

Trip nodded. "Well… that's slightly cleared up, but why the uniforms?"

Rose just smiled "They thought there could be some kind of communications device in them."

Trip sighed deeply, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Dammit! Is it always this hot?" he asked.

"It's not hot," Rose replied, "only twenty-nine degrees Celsius. Quite cold actually."

Malcolm and Trip both looked at her in disbelief, till Trip remembered she was from a desert planet, which would probably be, at average, fifty-three degrees Celsius. Tugging at his vest, he pulled it over his head, and wrung it. Feeling a pair of eyes stare at him, he turned back to Rose. "Ok, Rose, that can be quite uncomfortable."

"Sorry!" she quickly said, looking away. "It's just... you… you have… nipples missing."

She nearly leapt up in surprise as Trip and Malcolm both roared with laughter, even though Trip did feel slightly shocked at the statement. Malcolm clutched his sides, trying to breathe as Trip wiped a tear of merriment from his cheek. "Oh dear," he managed to splutter, eyeing the now timid Rose.

Rose just watched him with wide eyes. "Did… I say something… funny?" she asked.

Malcolm sniggered. "Round about."

Trip looked over at him and smiled, then turned back to Rose. "We only have two of them, Rose. Why? How many do Hitarus have? Eight?"

"Six, actually." Rose corrected.

Trip sighed. "Ok. Well, I was close."

He pulled his vest back on when it felt a bit drier, then glanced over at Malcolm. "Best get going before Rose brings up something else to give us the hoots."

Rose arched an eyebrow? "The 'hoots'?"

"Figure of speech."

Rose just nodded, also standing up along with Malcolm, and the three of them went back on their way towards the research facility.


End file.
